Pitlochry revisited

Left Edinburgh in the mizzle this morning, nice and early, but by the time we reached Pitlochry - via all the back roads of Perth following the silly sat nav - it was wall to wall sunshine.

We paused for an Archie stop at a wee place we'd always been meaning to pop into - 'Taste of Perthshire' a House of Bruar wannabe. Now, House of Bruar is a fabulous shop, we cannot pass by it, but this wannabe just missed out. Can you guess why? House of Bruar does not have muzak. It is a haven of peace and good taste. This place, while it had excellent shopping areas with desirable merchandise à la HoB, had a local radio blasting out pop muzak. We did not hang around.

But not to dwell on any negatives. A trip of two and a half hours, and ARCHIE WAS NOT SICK!! He was only sick after we gave him his breakfast about ten minutes from our destination. If only we'd waited!

And what a destination - Perthshire at its best. Autumn colours, mirror lochs, and a salmon ladder. We walked round Loch Faskally, it was about two hours, but that was only because of my slow progress - my sore knee and the amazing scenery! I had to keep stopping. And not just on the loch side - the mosses and the teeniest wee tinsy mushrooms on the landward side were so interesting.

Archie had a wonderful time - picking up the biggest sticks, running to and fro. He saw ducks and didn't bark. Good boy. Though he does have a taste for duck poo. Naughty boy!

After our long walk - I was just about to ring for an ambulance - we at last got back to the pub/hotel by the river. It was warm enough to sit outside by the river and have a late lunch/early dinner of wonderful fish and chips. And a red wine.

We're now ensconced in our lovely cosy room - open fire, spa bath (yes, I nearly needed to phone for assistance to get out of it...), another bottle of wine, though we'll only have a few sips. What a pity we have to go out soon! We have to walk 100 yards to the Festival Theatre for the show - Our Man in Havanna. No idea what it's about - the date just fitted in.

Archie will stay here, and the owners will keep an eye on him. I'm sure he will just sleep. And I may do the same after all that wine, should the plot be a bit slow...

PS Extra shot of Archie making himself at home by the open fire in our room.